Great, I'm surrounded by villains.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 214 Please place your bet

Many times Duan Mingyuan couldn't help but feel that the planet he lived on was like an old house. If he lifted up a wooden board and looked down, he would find piles of cockroaches.

Recently, he seems to have become the caretaker of this old house. He had just sent away a group of outsiders who wanted to blow up the house, and now he has encountered the problem of insect infestation.

After finishing his lunch, Zheng Liu also wanted to stand in the cold wind and sigh like Duan Mingyuan. The latter looked like a philosopher from behind, but after brainstorming, he only wanted to understand one question.

——He is nothing.

Naturally, I can't feel anything.

Before meeting Duan Mingyuan today, he naively thought that Siyang City was a city with simple folk customs, and everything they did was to uphold the justice of this city.

But now, someone is trying to buy the life of a public official, while others are just watching.

He didn't receive any calls or text messages from the police station for the entire afternoon. It seemed that the Chamber of Commerce had already communicated with the police station and should just pretend that Zheng Liu had never existed. There were plenty of young police officers around who could fill the vacancy at any time.

The three waited in an open space near the green belt until late at night, until a white van stopped by the roadside.

When the car door opened, the person inside waved to them.

After getting on the bus, they were blindfolded. In their words, this was for safety reasons.

Zheng Liu didn't like this feeling. Facing a group of strangers in an unfamiliar place with their vision blocked, he always felt that the other party was going to stab them in the next second.

If Duan Mingyuan had not been there, he might have fought to the death when several people took out the blindfolds.

"Is this true for everyone, or just us?"

Duan Mingyuan started chatting with the people in the car.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not targeting you. This is a process that every junior member has to go through. After all, neither the Chamber of Commerce nor you want to get into unnecessary trouble... And take this, wear it when you go in. Most people in the Chamber of Commerce don't want anyone to know their exact identities."

The mask of the ball was handed to three people. Judging from the process, the Chamber of Commerce did not seem to have any intention of silencing them immediately.

"Has the Chamber of Commerce ever told you about us?"

"I don't know. I'm not interested."

The man said coldly, "Pick someone up and send them to the designated location, and the job is done."

Duan Mingyuan felt very sorry that no one in the car was good at communicating.

The car immediately became quiet. The only sound that could be heard along the way was the van's movement. When the line of sight was blocked, the concept of time became vague. I didn't know how long it had passed before the van stopped.

The people in the car helped them move forward.

Zheng Liu was cautious and kept chatting with Xing to make sure they were not separated and taken somewhere else.

When the blindfolds of the three people were taken off, what came into view was a palace-like magnificent building. The decoration style reminded Duan Mingyuan of the palace in the court.

This was a place similar to a locker room. Apart from the three people, there was only a girl wearing a bunny girl uniform and with a graceful figure. She held an unknown instrument in her hand and scanned the three people.

When the instrument scanned Duan Mingyuan, the formal smile on her face froze. After some operation, the instrument finally made a "beep beep" error sound.

"What's wrong?"

Duan Mingyuan asked.

"Well, I'm sorry, this customer has never had this happen before. I need to talk to the lobby manager. Before this, I'm afraid you won't be able to use the services provided by the exchange."

After saying that, the bunny girl turned to Zheng Liu and Xing and handed the device printed out from the instrument to them.

The device is only the size of a brooch and looks like a blooming lotus, with a countdown displayed on the small electronic screen.

7 hour, 03 minutes and 17 seconds.

"This is……?"

"These are the chips of the two guests in the exchange."

The bunny girl kindly introduced the rules of the exchange to the two of them. "The Chamber of Commerce believes that for all lives in this world, only two things are relatively fair. The first is life, and the second is time. Therefore, based on the principle of fair trading, when guests come to the exchange, all their material possessions are no longer counted. Here, only life and time are the only bargaining chips."

Zheng Liu and Xing fell silent at the same time.

This bunny girl has a smiling face, but she tells horror stories out of the blue.

"You mean we only have 7 hours and 03 minutes to live?"

"Seven hours and two minutes, to be exact."

The bunny girl smiled and comforted them, "Don't be too depressed, everything is possible in the exchange. I have seen many people who only have one hour of chips left and survived. Seven hours is enough for you to do a lot of things. In the exchange, guests have two ways to increase their chips. One is through fair trading channels of the Chamber of Commerce, and the other is to bet in the casino of the exchange. No matter which one, there is a possibility of a comeback."

At the bunny girl's reminder, the three put on masks.

However, due to a malfunction of the measuring instrument, Duan Mingyuan's chips could not be displayed, so he could neither trade with others in the underground exchange nor participate in any gambling.

As soon as the two left the locker room, they were attracted by a heart-wrenching roar.

"No, absolutely not. There is definitely something wrong with this casino. You must have adjusted the odds. There must be cheating!"

The one who was roaring was a man who was only a few years older than Duan Mingyuan. He stood in front of the card table, his body shaking uncontrollably.

The bunny girl said that to the left of the locker room was the exchange's casino, where many people like Zheng Liu and Xing gathered who wanted to survive the gambling game.

But this emotionally broken man seems to have set an example for everyone who wants to change their fate.

He waved his hands towards the air and said, "Let me place another bet. I will definitely win this time. Don't come over. Oh, I have a wife and a daughter. They have a lot of chips. As long as I let me--"

As the man roared, the countdown on his brooch reached zero.

The sound stopped abruptly, and his body lost its support and fell forward.

The man is dead.

His life energy was drained by some invisible thing, turning his body into an empty shell.

However, the gamblers surrounding the card table turned a deaf ear to the man's last cries. They stared at the card table intently without keeping their eyes on him for even a second until the man fell to the ground and could no longer make any sound.

Only the exchange's security personnel came over, and they seemed to be accustomed to this.

Two security guards bent down, lifted the man's arms, dragged him into the storage room, and then returned to their posts as if nothing had happened.

It was as if the dead man had never existed.

Thanks to Yuezed for the reward of 100 Qidian coins!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 215 Equivalent Exchange

These are the most common items in casinos, the only difference is that each gambler's chips are their brooches, and the countdown on the brooch is all the chips they can use for betting.

There are always stories of people getting rich overnight here, and although there are many failures, people still flock to it.

The common point is that most of the gamblers have little life left. Zheng Liu and Xing's 6 hours and 50 minutes can even be considered generous here. Duan Mingyuan met many people along the way who had less than five minutes left on the countdown, but their eyes were still bloodshot and they firmly believed that they could turn the tables.

It's a pity that the probability of a turnaround is not good. He walked around the casino and didn't meet anyone who successfully changed his fate. There were five or six people like the man before who had their life energy drained and dragged away.

“These people are crazy.”

Xing whispered.

Even if she only had less than seven hours left, she would never go crazy like these people.

"The people here are different from you. They have all lost for decades before ending up in this situation."

Suddenly, a female voice came out of Xing's brooch, and the voice continued, "Life and time are fair to everyone. Most people start with the same chips, but their destinies unfold in completely different directions. As for you, 7 hours is the chips I give you. You can use it to win back your life, or you can enjoy the 7 hours of your life here. You can enjoy experiences you have never enjoyed before, throw away all your worries, and walk to the end of your life in extreme happiness.

"But if you want to win back your life, the next seven hours may be the most torturous in your life. The casino represents luck, and the Chamber of Commerce represents wisdom. This is the only way to change your life. I am looking forward to your performance next."

The talking stopped, leaving Zheng Liu and Xing looking at each other in bewilderment.

The three of them went to the area opposite the casino. Compared to the noisy and crazy casino, the environment on the other side was much more elegant. The Chamber of Commerce set up a grand exchange dinner here. The people attending the dinner wore masks and dressed differently, but no matter what their previous identities were, they were all businessmen here.

All they have to do is to negotiate a deal with their eloquence and then exchange the bargaining chips they obtained for what they want.

The Chamber of Commerce also has many inspiring stories. Over the past few decades, countless people have crossed classes and become members of the upper class with their vision and wisdom.

But it was obvious that Zheng Liu and Xing, who only had 14 hours left in total, were not the objects of people's interest. After people glanced at the countdown on their brooches, they just walked away.

This is enough to infer that the 14-hour chart does not have much buying power in this area.

Zheng Liu and Xing walked to the corner of the area awkwardly. They clearly felt that this was not the place for them.

The voice of the brooch said there were two ways to change their destiny, but in fact there was only one choice left for them.

They don't seem to have anything that can interest others.

However, they are well aware that so-called luck will only lead people into the abyss. Once they are trapped in it, their ending will be no different from those gamblers who have lost their minds.

Regardless of whether they win or lose, staying away from gambling is their only option to maintain their dignity.

"Old Duan, why don't we go downstairs and take a look."

Zheng Liu didn't want to stay here any longer. He planned to use his limited time to investigate every corner of this underground exchange.

The bunny girl who led them said that the banquet hall and casino on the first floor of the Chamber of Commerce were places to earn chips. If they were tired, they could go downstairs and use the chips they won to buy any services they wanted downstairs at a very low price.

The bunny girl specifically emphasized to them that any kind of service could be purchased, and even their deepest fantasies could be satisfied downstairs.

"what's your plan?"

Zheng Liu asked Duan Mingyuan.

"No plan. I have a bug."

Duan Mingyuan felt that he was out of place in this underground exchange. He didn't even have a brooch on his chest to represent his remaining chips. Although he had no interest in gambling or doing business, he was very curious about how much time was left in his countdown.

It’s a pity that the Flash Flag Chamber of Commerce doesn’t seem to be able to satisfy his curiosity.

Just as the three were about to leave, a young man holding a goblet blocked their way. The young man stared at Xing and said, "Madam, are you a member of the Hunter Association?"

Business is coming.

Even though he was wearing a mask, the three of them could feel the heat in the young man's eyes.

He did not intend to explain how he recognized Xing, nor did he intend to introduce his identity. In this place, the only relationship between people was the exchange of interests. He had just set his eyes on a valuable commodity and said, "I heard that the Hunter Association has recruited many strange people, and they all have special superpowers. I wonder if you have awakened your abilities like them, ma'am?"

Xing nodded.

She noticed the young man's eyes, and when he saw the countdown of less than 7 hours on the brooch, the smile on his face became more confident.

"I want to buy your superpowers and 10 years of life, what do you think?"

The young man knew that for a dying person, the 10 years of life given by heaven was like a life-saving straw. He said, "If you die, your abilities will also disappear. These ten years are enough for you to do many things. Perhaps you can use it to win more chips."

"Abilities... can also be traded?"

Xing was stunned.

"Of course, as long as it passes the Chamber of Commerce's impartiality, they will pass your abilities on to me under the witness of the Goddess, and you can use these ten years to solve your urgent problems."

The young man seemed to be very experienced in this, as the countdown on his chest was 172 years and five months, which just showed that he was a successful businessman.

As he spoke, the young man looked at Zheng Liu and said, "I can also divide these ten years of life into two, so that you and your friends can both breathe a sigh of relief."

"Don't trust that profiteer!"

An old woman interrupted the conversation with a harsh voice. She held Xing's hands tightly and said, "Your talent is very rare here. You should contact the Chamber of Commerce and go through the formal auction route. Although the procedures are a bit more complicated, the price you will get from it will definitely be much higher than it would have been in ten years!"

"You old fool, you come to ruin my business again!"

The young man cursed, "I told you, this kind of business is like gambling. You have to accept the loss if you gamble. But you are holding a grudge just because you bought a piece of junk!"

"Bah, damn profiteer!"

The old woman protected Xing behind her and glared at the young man fiercely, not allowing him to get any closer.

The chips on her brooch pointed to three days and four hours.

The young man obviously saw this number and smiled coldly, "Whatever, you won't live for many days anyway."

After that, he shouted to Xing unwillingly, "I've been here all along. If you change your mind, come find me. The procedures for the auction are very complicated. Maybe you can't even wait until then."

"roll!"

The old woman cursed and forced the young man to retreat. Then she explained to the three people, "That unscrupulous businessman only targets people like you. He buys things from you at a low price and then sells them to others at a high price. You must not be deceived by him!"

Thanks to Gugugu Fake Sister Control for the reward of 500 Starting Point Coins!

(End of this chapter)